Hi everyone, I have signed up to Saguto.golf today. I have been playing golf for almost 30 years (I am 57 yo) and managed to get to a handicap of 5,6. But my frustrations with my inconsistent play and my body starting to hurt, I have watched Tom on youtube for quite some time now. And I keep coming back to Tom's simple to understand principles. I have also started to change my swing according to Tom's advice from youtube, but I seem to fall back into some of my old habits after a while.
So, now I want to go all in on changing to the "Saguto" way, and looking very much forward to transforming my game this season.
I have one question for the community.
I just this week changed my grip to a "butterfly" type grip, where the left hand (my lead hand) is quite strong, and my right hand is quite weak. It feels like I am gripping the club a bit more on "the top" of the grip. This has really helped me with much more consistent (meaning straight) shots. I seem to have eliminated my normal tendency to occasionally pull hook the ball, and I also don't seem to have any big slices. And I am expecting, as I grow more confident in the grip, that I might actually remove any desire to "steer" my shots. Do any of you have any experiences with this type of grip?
Thank you,
Anders
Welcome to the school and to this great forum community, @anders.speakv!!
With regard to your grip question, there is plenty of room for personal preference, so as long as your butterfly maintains control of the club and allows your wrists and hands to react naturally and properly to the swing motion, there should not be any issues with it.
By the way, as a new member please allow me to share some preliminary guidance to help you get off to a good start:
1) Regardless of a member's skill level, this swing necessitates a complete reboot for someone transitioning from a shift & lift swing (which is typically the case), and therefore it is imperative that one take sufficient time to ensure that the fundamental components are mastered. From the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. (For example, contrary to shift & lift where you may be taught to keep your trail foot perpendicular to the target line as a means of "creating resistance" in your trail side, in S&T we flare both feet out 10-20 degrees in order to facilitate a free flowing, inclined hip and shoulder turn.) I cannot emphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built. Chapter 1 of the Golf Swing Simplified program (GSS) and Part I of Get Out & Go Play (GOGP) both address this.
2a) GSS: One of the many great things about this swing is that you can achieve solid ball striking even at the most basic levels. This is why I oftentimes will suggest that students park themselves on Chapter 2 of the GSS course for an extended period of time after locking down Chapter 1's foundational elements. Chapter 2 reinforces the body motions and the weight-forward component, and it culminates with what I call "The Best Golf Swing Practice Drill of All Time". Work yourself sequentially and gradually through the chapter, and then commit yourself to that drill in Lesson 2.8. Learn it. Practice it. Master it. You can even use this partially abbreviated swing on the course and play quite well with it as it will provide plenty of distance. (It actually is the full swing minus just a couple of power accumulators.) Once you've got that down, you will be well prepared to move forward in the curriculum and well on your way towards taking ownership of YOUR swing!
2b) GOGP: This quick-start program is exactly as it sounds - it is designed to fast-track you out onto the course so you can have fun - and success - playing as you learn! Should you choose this path, everything in #1 above still applies, and as implied above in 2a you will still want to work through it sequentially and gradually, mastering each lesson before moving ahead to the next one. In this program, Drill #5 - The Flying Wedge is the one you'll want to park yourself on and nail down.
3) Also, as you progress always keep in mind the V1 Swing Video Analysis, an effective and inexpensive service that I highly recommend to everyone in the school. I liken it to bringing your swing into the shop for a tune-up or minor repair. Scheduling one on a quarterly basis for preventive maintenance will do wonders for keeping things humming along nicely, and it's also a great tool for pinpointing and resolving any issues that arise. The process involves downloading the free V1 app and then submitting two videos to me through the app - one down-the-line (captured from your stance line, not the target line) and the other face-on. You'll find more information about the V1 Analysis halfway down this page on the Saguto.Golf site.
I look forward to assisting you through the school’s structured lessons and drills towards building a consistent, low maintenance, powerful, body-friendly swing that will bring your enjoyment of this great game to a new level!